Friday, October 23, 2009

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Philip Spooner is a lifetime Republican, World War II veteran and, to everyone's surprise, a gay marriage supporter. The 86-year-old gave a heartfelt speech in support of gay marriage to Maine's Judiciary Committee back in April, and the video has just now become an internet hit.

I am here today because of a conversation I had last June when I was voting. A woman at my polling place asked me, "Do you believe in equal, equality for gay and lesbian people?" I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her, "What do you think our boys fought for at Omaha Beach?" I haven't seen much, so much blood and guts, so much suffering, much sacrifice. For what? For freedom and equality. These are the values that give America a great nation, one worth dying for.

Spooner's voice wavers often as he weaves his own life story into the speech, using his experience as a soldier as his main defense for gay marriage. He lists his accomplishments in the war, among them serving in Patton's Third Army and carrying POWs back home, making it clear that he's a true American -- and according to Spooner, there's nothing more American than fighting for equality.

Friday, October 02, 2009

.(Hat tip to Joe Sudbay over at Americablog.com)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Three years ago, on September 21, 2006, Raymond J. Lahey, the Catholic Bishop of Antigonish in Nova Scotia, Canada, sent a letter to his parishioners urging them to speak out against same-sex marriage:

I would encourage every adult Catholic to contact your Member of Parliament on this issue and express to him or her your views on the nature of marriage. You can do this by phone or in writing, and you can do it in your own informal and respectful words.

Today, we have so many problems with our social structures that the second chance to correct one of them by reaffirming the specific nature of marriage is a wonderful opportunity for us. We can express ourselves both as Canadians who are not uncaring for the range of persons who comprise our society, and as people who at the same time want to do the right thing.

Now that same Catholic Bishop, Raymond J. Lahey, is in custody on child porn charges.

A former Roman Catholic bishop in Nova Scotia turned himself in to Ottawa police Thursday afternoon and was in custody in the central station cell block. Raymond Lahey, 69, who stepped down abruptly on Saturday as the bishop of Antigonish in Nova Scotia, faces charges of possession and importation of child pornography.

Wearing a collared shirt and sweater under a tan jacket, a grim-faced Lahey said nothing as he entered headquarters with his lawyer, Michael Edelson, who also gave no comment.

An arrest warrant was issued on Wednesday for Lahey, who is well known in Nova Scotia for having orchestrated a high-profile apology and a $15-million, out-of-court settlement to victims who were sexually abused as children by a former priest in the Diocese of Antigonish.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sigh... I hate to keep pointing this out, but the people who tend to be the most aggressive opponents of other people having basic civil rights, tend to be the same people you wouldn't want anywhere near your kids.